Folding wall bed



March Q, 1954 F. B. POTTER FOLDING WALL BED 5 Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed May11, 1950 I I l III/ ///I/ II 4 3 l 8 54 Fred B. Patter INVENTOR.

March 9, 1954 F. BQ POTTER FOLDING WALL BED Filed May 11. 1950 Mamh 1954F. a. POTTER FOLDING WALL BED Filed May 11, 1950 Fig. 5

3 Sheets-Sheet 3 Fig. 7

Fred B. Pol/er IIJVENTOR.

WW 25m Patented Mar. 9, 1954 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE FOLDING WALLBED Fred B. Potter, Ocean Park, Calif.

Application May 11, 1950, Serial No. 161,290

2 Claims.

This invention comprises novel and useful improvements in .a studentwall bed and desk, and more specifically pertains to an article offurniture combining the functions of a foldable bed and a desk orwardrobe.

The primary object of this invention is to provide an improved articleof furniture which shall be capable of efficiently and compactlyfunctioning as a folding bed in conjunction with a desk or wardrobe.

.An important object of the invention is to provide a folding bed whichshall have improved means whereby ,a bed frame may be pivotally mountedin an enclosing housing selectively in a vertical folded position or ina horizontal open position.

Yet another object of the invention is to provide an improved foldingbed in conformity with the preceding object which shall have an improvedand more easily actuated mechanism for effecting the folding movementsof the bed frame.

A still further important object of the invention is to provide afolding bed construction as set forth in the foregoing objects whichshall have incorporated into the bed frame a students desk and amagazine rack.

Yet another important object of the invention is to provide .an improvedarticle of furniture which shall include a folding bed havingincorporated therein provision for storing and the like whereby the bedframe may function as part of a wardrobe, a desk, or the like.

These, together with various ancillary features and objects of theinvention, which will later become apparent as the followingdescription. procoeds, are attained by the present invention, apreferred embodiment of which has been illustrated, by way of exampleonly, in the accompanying drawings, wherein:

Figure 1 is a perspective view of one embodiment of furnitureincorporating the principles of this invention therein, this figureillustrating the folding bed in its stored position and with the desk inits closed position;

Figure 2 is a perspective view of the embodiment of Figure l, butshowing the desk in its open position;

Figure .3 is a vertical trans-verse sectional view taken substantiallyon the plane indicated by the section line 3-3 of Figure 1 andillustrating in full line the position of the parts in the closedarrangement of the device, and in dotted lines indicating a partiallyopened position of the bed frame and the associated mechanism thereof;

Figure 4 is a vertical transverse sectional view taken substantiallyupon the plane indicated by the section line 3-3 of Figure 1 butillustrating the bed in its open position;

Figure 5 is a horizontal sectional view taken substantially upon theplane indicated by the section line 55 of Figure 4;

Figure 6 is a fragmentary detail view upon an enlarged scale of aportion of the mechanism shown in Figure 5; and

Figure 7 is a view similar to Figure 3 but showing the bed frame havinga wardrobe or storage space incorporated therein.

Referring now more specifically to the accompanying drawings, whereinlike reference numerals designate similar parts throughout the variousviews, attention is directed first to the embodiment of Figures 1-6.,wherein there is disclosed, solely for the purpose of illustrating theprinciples of the invention applied to one satisfactory embodiment, acombination foldable bed and desk and magazine rack associatedtherewith.

ihe embodiment disclosed in the drawings includes a housing In in theform of a vertically disposed casing 50 in the form of a wardrobe chestor the like, which may either be constructed as a separate article offurniture and adapted to be independently positioned in .or moved aboutthe interior of a room as desired, in the manner of wardrobe chests, ormay constitutea frame-or casing which may be built into the walls orother suitable portions of buildings. In any event, the housing illconstitutes a recess for selectively receiving in stored position orsupporting in open position the foldable bed assembly.

The bed assembly consists of a bed frame incitcated generally by thenumeral l2 which may be of any suitable design and which includes abottom wall i l together with a pair of side walls It, a headboard 1-8and a foot board as. The bottom wall M, in the closed position of thebed, as shown in Figure .1, constitutes a closure for the open front ofthe housing or casing i El, and serves to support thereon a folding deskand a magazine rack as set forth hereinafter.

Suitable springs, mattresses or the like are adapted to .be mounted uponthe supporting frame E2 in any desired manner, but since the same, initself, constitutes no part of the present invention, illustrationthereof is deemed to be unnecessary.

The supporting frame 1:2 is supported and mounted within the housing 5 cfor pivoting and swinging movement relative thereto, by means of amechanism to be now described. Pivoinlly connected to the side board itof the bed frame 12, intermediate the ends of the latter, as by pivotpins 22, are the extremities of a pair of L-shaped supporting links 24,the upper ends of these links being vertically and horizontally slidablebetween a pair of horizontally extending support brackets 26 which aresecured to the inner sides of the side walls of the housing I0. At theiruppermost extremities, the supporting links 24 may be provided withlaterally extending portions 28 which rest upon and are supported by theupper surfaces of the brackets 26. It will thus be seen that by thesesupporting links 24, the bed frame I2 may be pivotally mounted andsupported in either the vertical stored position of the bed, as shown infull lines in Figure 3, or in the horizontal open position of the bed asshown in Figure 4.

At the edge where the headboard i8 and the bottom l4 meet there aremounted, on opposite sides of the bed, castors or rollers 35 of anydesired known construction which extend from the adjacent surfaces ofthese members and support the weight of the bed upon metallic strips 33forming tracks in the bottom of the cabinet. The rollers and tracks thusrelieve the members 22, 24, 2B, 28 from the weight of the bed during thecompletely folded or substantially folded positions of the bed.

In order to facilitate the movement of the bed between its vertical,stored position and its horizontal, opened position, a resilient meansis provided consisting of a pair of tension springs 30, each having itsupper end secured, as at 32, to the side wall of the housing ID, andhaving a cable 34 attached to their lower extremities, this cable beingentrained over a guide pulley 3E and having its extremities secured tothe above-mentioned pivot pin 22. The pulley 36 is in turn suitablymounted upon any desired portion of the housing ID, as upon the backwall of the same adjacent the sides. The arrangement is such that thesprings 30 will yieldingly maintain the bed in either its completelyfolded and vertical position, or in its fully opened and horizontalposition, as will be apparent from Figures 3, 4 and 7.

Secured to the headboard I8 is a counterbalance Weight 38, which may beof any desired construction such as a fiat metal plate of any desiredmass, this counterweight being intended to balance about the pivot pin22 the mass of bedding or the like disposed upon the bed frame l2 uponthe other side of the pivot pin. By this means, the supporting bed frameI 2 will be more evenly balanced about its supporting pivot pins 22 sothat the same may be more readily moved to its open or closed position.

Hingedly connected as at 40 to the upper end of the headboard I8 is aslide or guide 42 which may conveniently comprise a plate extendingacross substantially the entire width of the housing ID, the same beingretained in vertically disposed angle iron members or the like 44 whichconstitute vertical slides and guides.

These guides 44, one disposed upon each side of the housing I0, andpreferably being secured to the back wall of the same, retain the slide42 and confine the same for vertical sliding and guided movement. Byvirtue of the hinge connection 49, the headboard I8 is thus retained invertically guided position. The proportions of the parts are such thatwhen the bed is in its closed position, as shown in full lines in Figure3, the slide 42 will be at the bottom of the guides 44, and will thusrest upon the bottom of the housing III, while the headboard l8 willrest fia po the bottom wall of the housing. However, as the bed isopened by having its upper portion pulled outwardly and downwardly fromthe housing Hi, the pivoting movement about the pivot pins 22 will causethe slide 42 to move upwardly within the guides 44, until the bed frameI2 assumes the horizontal position shown in Figure 4. At this time, theheadboard l8 will be in a vertical position and abutted against the backwall of the housing I0, with the frame l2 disposed in horizontalposition and its weight carried by the pivot pin 22.

During this pivoting movement of the bed frame, it will of course beapparent that the supporting links 24 will be pivoted from theirposition entirely within the housing ill in the closed position of thebed to a position extending slightly outwardly of the housing as shownin Figure 4 in the open position of the device.

Adjacent its upper and outer end, the bottom wall I 4 of the bed frameis provided with a hinged leg assembly 46, the same being hinged, as at48, to the bottom wall [4. By means of latches 50, the legs may beselectively retained in their folded position fiat against the bottomwall l4 when the device is in its stored position, or may be selectivelyopened to constituted supporting legs when the device is open as shownin Figure 4.

Hinged as at 52 to the bottom wall I 4 is a shelf 54 having a supportingchain 56, whereby the shelf may be firmly retained in its openedposition, as shown in Figure 2. A pair of latches 58 serve to secure theshelf in folded position. As shown in Figure 2, when the foldable bed inis the stored position, the shelf may be opened to provide a studentsdesk or the like, and suitable racks 60 may be provided in aconventional manner upon the bottom wall I4 behind the shelf 54.

Secured to the bottom wall I4 and in a convenient position below theshelf 54 when the latter is in its opened position, is a magazine rackor the like 62 of any desired character.

Alternatively, as disclosed in Figure 7, a wardrobe or a cabinet orstorage space may be provided upon the bed frame. As shown in Figure 7,the construction of the housing In may be identical with that previouslydescribed, as likewise may be the construction of the springs 30, thecables 34, pulleys 36, supporting links 24, guides 44, slide 42,headboard l8, counterweight 38, support brackets 26, and pivot pins 22.How ever, the bed frame I2 is of slightly modified construction, thesame having a bottom wall-l0 from which extend side walls 12 betweenwhich is defined a bed, and depending walls 14. The space between thebottom wall and the depending walls 14 constitutes a cabinet, wardrobeor storage space which is disposed in a vertical position when the bedis in its folded position as shown in Figure '7. Access to this spacemay be obtained by folding panels 16, hinged, as at 18, to an outer orclosure wall 80 which is secured to the outer ends of the depending wall74, this closure wall 80 constituting an outer closure for the housingIn in the closed position of the device.

From the foregoing, the construction and operation of the combinationbed will be readily understood, together with its many advantages, andfurther explanation is believed to be unnecessary. However, sincenumerous modification and changes will readily occur to those skilled inthe art after a consideration of the foregoing specification andaccompanying drawingS. it is not desired to limit the invention to theexact construction shown and described, but all suitable modificationsand equivalents may be resorted to, falling within the scope of theappended claims.

Having thus disclosed and described the invention, what is claimed asnew is as follows:

1. A folding bed construction comprising a housing including side wallsand a bottom, a bed frame, support means pivoted to said bed frameintermediate its ends and to said housing and supporting said frame forselective vertical positioning in said housing and horizontalpositioning extending therefrom, vertically extending guide membersmounted on said side walls, a headboard on said bed, rollers secured tothe upper and lower ends of said headboard and engaging the bottom ofsaid housing when the bed frame is in its vertical position and engagedin said guide members when the bed frame is in its horizontal position,said support means including links pivoted at one of their ends to thesides of the bed frame and extending upwardly adjacent and parallel tothe side walls of the housing, said links having laterally extendin lugsat their upper ends, guide brackets mounted on the upper portions ofsaid side walls and slidingly and pivotally receiving the upper portionof said links the laterally extending lugs on said links engaging saidbrackets when the bed frame is in its horizontal position, said linksand brackets constituting a supporting frame for the head of said bedframe when the same is in its horizontal position, and means forfacilitating swinging of the bed frame from its vertical to itshorizontal position, said last means including springs secured at one oftheir ends to said housing, a cable extending from the other end of eachspring and being secured to the pivotal connection of one of said linksto the bed frame, said springs and cables serving to counterbalance theWeight of the bed frame as the position of the same is changed, with thetension on the spring being greater when the bed frame is in ahorizontal position than when the frame is in a vertical position.

2. A folding bed construction comprising a housing including side wallsand a bottom, a bed frame, support means pivoted to said bed frameintermediate its ends and to said housing and supporting said frame forselective vertical positioning in said housing and horizontalpositioning extending therefrom, vertically extending guide membersmounted on said side walls, a headboard on said bed, rollers secured tothe upper and lower ends of said headboard and engaging the bottom ofsaid housing when the bed frame is in its vertical position and engagedin said guide members when the bed frame is in its horizontal position,said support means including links pivoted at one of their ends to thesides of the bed frame and extending upwardly adjacent and parallel tothe side walls of the housing, said links having laterally extendinglugs at their upper ends, guide brackets mounted on the upper portionsof said side walls and slidingly and pivotally receiving the upperportion of said links, the laterally extending lugs on said linksengaging said brackets when the bed frame is in its horizontal position,said links and brackets constituting a supporting frame for the head ofsaid bed frame when the same is in its horizontal position, and meansfor facilitating swinging of the bed frame from its vertical to itshorizontal position, said last means including springs secured at one oftheir ends to said housing, a cable extending from the other end of eachspring and being secured to the pivotal connection of one of said linksto the bed frame, guide pulleys mounted within said housing, said cablesbeing entrained over said guide pulleys, said springs and cables servingto counterbalance the Weight of the bed frame as the position of thesame is changed, with the tension on the spring being greater when thebed frame is in a horizontal position than when the frame is in avertical position.

FRED B. POTTER.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS NumberName Date 314,032 Lackey Mar. 17, 1885 454,122 Hall June 16, 1891815,400 Blose Mar. 20, 1906 879,050 Ingram et al Feb. 11, 1908 1,400,534Ernest Dec. 20, 1921 1,622,702 Brown Mar. 29, 1927 2,257,625 ThomasSept. 30, 1941

